Standing committees take office at the beginning of the calendar year following the biennial conference. Other committees may be appointed on a continuing or an ad hoc basis at the discretion of the President. The President provides a charge to the committee. Funds for committee expenses are provided in the Association budget and are available from the Treasurer on request. The President is an ex officio member of all committees except the Committee on Nominations.

Duties of Committee Chair:

To hold meetings of the committee as needed to accomplish its purposes.

To attend meetings of the Executive Board as a non-voting member as specified by the President.

To report to the Executive Board and/or the President as appropriate

Submit a biennial report to the President.

To turn over committee files to succeeding chair and/or NCLA archives as appropriate.

Archives Committee

Membership:

Chair, plus six or more members, and the President of the Association, ex officio. Membership shall be based on knowledge of and interest in archival theory, as well as familiarity with the organizational structure of NCLA.

Charges:

To solicit official records, publications, and memorabilia of the North Carolina Library Association.

To maintain a records center for current Association records in the State Library.

To transfer, according to an official records retention and disposition schedule, non-current Association records to the State Archives for inclusion in the permanent records of the Association.

To destroy, according to an official records retention and disposition schedule, records scheduled for disposition.

Conference Committee

Membership:

Chairperson (Vice-President/President-Elect of the Association), plus five or more members appointed by the Conference Committee Chairperson, and the President of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To plan the biennial conference for the next biennium, and to recommend to the Executive Board the site for the subsequent biennial conference.

To establish and maintain contacts with sections, round tables, and other groups within the Association with regard to programs and meetings scheduled for the conference.

To report regularly to the Executive Board on conference plans.

To negotiate contracts with hotels, convention centers, etc.

To invite speakers for conference-wide events.

To provide for local arrangements.

To provide for registration prior to and during the conference.

To provide publicity for the conference.

To administer all financial affairs of the conference.

To maintain and update the Conference Handbook.

To maintain and update the Conference Web site.

Constitution, Codes and Handbook Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus six or more members, and the President of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To study the Constitution and Bylaws and suggest revisions to clarify and bring up to date these documents.

To draft amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws based on changes suggested by the membership and/or the Executive Board.

To submit to the Executive Board, at least six months prior to the biennial conference, recommended amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws

To provide for the membership by mail, at least 30 days prior to the biennial conference, notice of proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws

To maintain compliance of section/round table bylaws with the NCLA Constitution and Bylaws by informing sections/round tables of required changes.

To approve proposed changes in section/round table bylaws prior to their submission to section/round table membership.

To review proposed bylaws for new sections/round tables and make recommendations as appropriate to the section/round table.

To keep the Handbook up to date and submit it to the NCLA webmaster for posting to the NCLA website.

Continuing Education Liasion

The Continuing Education Liaison is appointed by the NCLA President to serve as the liasison between the association and other continuing education initiatives on the state and national level. Duties include (but are not limited to) advising sections and roundtables on continuing education opportunities as requested and serve on the State Library's Continuing Education Advisory Committee during the appointed term.

Development Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus three or more members, and the President of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To work with the North Carolina Community Foundation in the management of the North Carolina Library Association Endowment Fund.

To publicize the Fund and its goals to all who may be interested in libraries in North Carolina, soliciting contributions from all groups of people from all over the state.

To report to the Board and the Membership of the Association on progress of solicitation and receipts from Endowment.

To consult with the Finance Committee of the Association on the use of Endowment receipts.

To report to the Board and the membership of the Association and to the North Carolina Community Foundation on the use of receipts from the Foundation.

To work with the Association Administrative Assistant on procedures for handling money and records and correspondence relating to the Endowment.

Finance Committee

Membership:

Chairperson (usually someone familiar with the Association budget), the Treasurer of the Association, the Treasurer Elect, plus two or more members, and the President of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To prepare and present Association budgets to the Executive Board.

To make recommendations to the Executive Board regarding all aspects of the Association's finances.

To review on a regular basis the long-range fiscal status of NCLA including fiscal policies and procedures, and to make recommendations to the Board about the management of Association funds.

To study and make recommendations on matters assigned by the Executive Board.

Intellectual Freedom Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus four or more members and the President of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To promote professional and public awareness of the importance of free access to information and the responsibility of libraries to provide such access.

To serve as a clearinghouse for information relative to censorship.

To support libraries in defense of intellectual freedom when requested to do so.

To keep the Association and the Executive Board informed of infringements of intellectual freedom.

To encourage librarians to adopt written selection policies and to secure the approval of such policies by their local boards.

To cooperate with the Public Policy Committee in opposing any statutory abridgment of freedom in the selection and use of library materials.

To urge librarians to ensure the privacy of library records.

To speak for the Association on matters of intellectual freedom when empowered by the Executive Board.

Leadership Committee

Membership:

This committee

Charges:

To develop future leaders for North Carolina libraries and for the library profession.

To develop the capacity of north Carolina librarians and paraprofessionals to become leaders in the communities they serve.

To enable the profession to be a positive force for change in society.

Legislative and Advocacy Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus five or more members, and the President of the Association, ex officio

Charges:

To keep the Association informed of all pending state and federal legislation affecting libraries.

To keep in touch with state and federal legislators, acquainting them with needs of libraries, and justifying budget requests.

To cooperate with other groups in promoting legislation which benefits libraries and librarianship.

To promote good relations between government at all levels and libraries of all types, and to explore ways and means of improving these relationships.

To assist with the planning and promotion of State Legislative Days with other state organizations.

To plan National Legislative Days with on behalf of North Carolina Libraries and NCLA.

To recommend person or organizations for special recognition by NCLA.

Membership Committee

Membership:

Chair plus a member to represent each section/round table, and the President, Treasurer, and Directors-at-Large of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To promote individual and institutional membership in NCLA.

To recruit new members and encourage non-renewing members to renew their membership.

To prepare membership brochures and other publicity materials to be used for recruiting members.

To cooperate with the editors of North Carolina Libraries and E-NEWS to promote membership in NCLA.

To seek nominations for honorary and life membership according to established criteria, to make recommendations to the Executive Board for these awards by January 31 of the conference year, and to be responsible for all other aspects of awarding honorary and life membership to those selected.

To seek nominations for the North Carolina Library Association Distinguished Library Service Award, according to established criteria, to make recommendations to the Executive Board for this award, and to be responsible for all other aspects of making this award.

To work with membership representatives of the American Library Association and the Southeastern Library association in providing membership information.

Operations Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus 3-5 additional members who serve on an “as needed” basis.

Charge:

To advertise, hire, interview, and hire the NCLA Administrative Assistant,

To supervise and evaluate, on an annual basis, the NCLA Administrative Assistant.

To offer a direct line of communication for the daily operations of the NCLA office.

To assist, as needed, the NCLA Administrative Assistant with special projects such as NCLA elections, the NCLA biennial conference registration, and the determination of when to route NCLA materials to the NCLA Archives.

To report the routine activities in the NCLA Administrative office to the Executive Board on a quarterly basis and to alert the Board of issues, concerns, and problems with the work of the NCLA Administrative office on an as-needed basis.

Publications and Marketing Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus six or more members, and the editor of North Carolina Libraries and the President of the Association, ex officio.

Charges:

To provide for continuity and balance in NCLA publications by coordinating and reviewing all materials to be formally published by the Association. (An NCLA publication is defined as one published by NCLA other than by a section or round table.)

To develop and recommend to the Executive Board policies and guidelines for NCLA publications, with the exception of North Carolina Libraries.

To identify publication needs of the Association and make recommendations to the Executive Board as appropriate.

To provide advice and recommendations regarding publications to sections and round tables.

Scholarships Committee

Membership:

Chairperson, plus five members, and the President of the Association, ex officio. Membership is for a six-year term, with two members' terms expiring each biennium. One of the continuing members shall be appointed as chairperson.

Charges:

To recommend to the Executive Board policies and regulations for awarding scholarships administered by NCLA.

To publicize the scholarships available.

To receive and review applications for the Appalachian Scholarship, Query-Long Scholarship, the McLendon Scholarship Fund, and the NCLA Memorial Scholarship

NCLA Scholarships Fund

The North Carolina Library Association Memorial Scholarship is a $1,000 scholarship.

The Query-Long Scholarship for Work with Children and Young Adults is a $1,000 scholarship.

The McLendon Scholarship is a $400 scholarship.

The Appalachian Scholarship, for a library science student who plans to be a school library media specialist in North Carolina, is a $1000 scholarship.

A scholarship may be awarded for original or continued study in library science:

To a student entering library school for the first time; or

To a student currently enrolled in a library school program; or

To a practicing librarian who wishes to continue his or her studies.

To be eligible for a scholarship, the applicant:

Must currently be a legal resident of North Carolina with a minimum residency of two years.

Must hold an undergraduate degree.

Must have been accepted by a library school. (Persons whose library school applications are pending may apply for the scholarship.)

Major factors to be considered in making the awards:

Academic excellence.

Leadership qualities.

Evidence of commitment to a career in librarianship in North Carolina.

Financial need.

Scholarship opportunities will vary depending on how much funding is available from NCLA.